First Bull Run: The History of the Civil War’s First Major Battle

After the Battle of Fort Sumter in April 1861 ignited the Civil War, many in the North expected a relatively quick victory, including President Abraham Lincoln. While that seems naïve in hindsight, given the knowledge that the war lasted over four years, these expectations seemed entirely realistic at the time due to the Union’s overwhelming economic advantages over the South. At the start of the war, the Union had a population of over 22 million, whereas the South had a population of 9 million, nearly 4 million of whom were slaves. Union states contained 90% of the manufacturing capacity of the country and 97% of the weapon manufacturing capacity. Union states also possessed over 70% of the total railroads in the pre-war United States at the start of the war, and the Union also controlled 80% of the shipbuilding capacity of the pre-war United States.